News Archive - February 2014

Brits 'unhappy' with handling of UK immigration

The majority of Brits are unhappy with the handling of UK immigration matters by the government.

This is according to a poll conducted by Ipsos MORI and published by the Evening Standard. The paper confirmed that the results showed that more than six out of every ten people are dissatisfied with the government handling of immigratio and asylum matters.

In comparison, the number of people who are satisfied with the service is about a two in ten.

It appears that there is a difference between the sexes when it comes to how they view the UK visa and immigration system. Sixty-six per cent of female respondents said that they were dissatisfied, compared to 59 per cent of men.

This lack of satisfaction is prompting some adjustment in political allegiance. The data found that half of Conservative suppo are unhappy, compared to two-thirds of Labour backers and 55 per cent of Liberal Democrats.

However, it is the Tory party that perhaps has the most to worry about. The current approach of dramatically cutting the immigration figures formed one of Prime Minister David Cameron's headline policies after he pledged to cut net migration to the “tens of thousands” before the next election.

Managing director of the Social Research Institute, at Ipsos MORI, Bobby Duffy, spoke to the paper about the findings noting that although they are “far from a ringing endorsement” of the government's policy, they are still the highest satisfaction figures recorded and “a significant improvement”.